"Son, please wake up. I love you, boy."
I think I hear words but the voice sounds so very far away, almost like it's at the far end of a tunnel. As hard as I try, I can't seem to open my eyes. I'm scared because something is stuck down my throat and I can't move my hands to pull it out. As terrified as I am, I breathe a small sigh of relief when I finally recognize my dad's soothing voice. Although I can't summon the strength to try to reach out to him, there's something about his presence that has a calming effect on me.
Owen:
"What happened to him, dad? And why are there cops outside?"
"I don't know what happened, Stefan. The police told me he was found next to a dead body with the murder weapon in his hand."
"Oh my God. He wouldn't kill anyone. Something is very wrong here," Stefan says, his eyes drifting to his brother's prone body.
"How is he?"
"He's being treated for alcohol poisoning. The Dr. Told me that he also has aspiration pneumonia. Apparently he was barely breathing when he was found. His doctor told me it was possible that he could have some brain damage related to seizure and hypoxia."
Trying not to lose my composure, I reach up to pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to keep my tears at bay.
"He had a seizure? Dad, I don't understand, he hasn't been drinking has he? I mean, what could have set him off?"
"I wish I knew. No, he's done really well with his sobriety. I wish he would wake up so he could tell us what happened."
"Dad, Does Elena know? Has she come to see him?"
"I'm sure she doesn't know. You're the only one I called. I wanted to talk to the doctor first."
When I hear a rap on the window, I turn my head. Seeing that it's Ric, I motion for him to come in.
"Oh good Lord," Ric remarks, his mouth agape.
"Did the police tell you anything? He's not a killer, Ric. You know this," I offer, my heart breaking to see my son in such dire straits.
"Owen, I think they realize that Damon was too drunk to have shot anyone. Plus the weapon was in his left hand."
"Damon is right-handed."
"Exactly. But someone went to a lot of trouble to try to frame him for murder. If you want my opinion, I think whoever did this expected that Damon would die too," he explains, walking over to place his hand on Damon's forearm.
"The victim was Nik Mikaelson. Does that name ring a bell?"
"Isn't he the guy that he was supposed to meet to talk about Happy Dale? Mikael's nephew?"
"Yes, he was. Both Mikael and Elijah are pretty upset. I did speak to Elijah for a few minutes. He is under no illusion that Damon shot Nik."
"I wish he never would've gotten involved in all of this," I lament, resting my hand on top of my son's.
"Dad, he wanted to help Elena. He really, really cares for her," Stefan remarks, not even realizing what he said.
"I thought you didn't like her?"
"Caroline likes her a lot. She makes Damon happy so I figured I should give her a chance."
"You're a good brother. I know you two butt heads sometimes but I also know that you'll always have each other's back."
"Absolutely dad."
"So Ric, how are things going to go with the police?"
"Once he's conscious, they'll interrogate him. The DA is a friend of mine. He said he'll need to look over the evidence before he decides on whether to indict him or not. As I told you, this isn't as cut and dried as it appears. Still, there's a possibility that he could be charged with murder but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
"Thanks Ric, keep me updated will you?"
"Of course, Owen. I'm going to go now. Jenna sends her love."
"Bye Ric," Stefan adds, taking a seat beside me.
"Should we call Elena?"
"Maybe we should wait till we know more, Stefan?"
"I guess you're right...," he starts to say when his doctor walks in.
"Hello Mr. Salvatore."
"Dr. Adams, this is my son, Stefan."
"It's good to meet you," he says, extending his hand to shake Stefan's. He walks over to Damon, shines his pen light in Damon's eyes. After looking at a few of his monitors, he turns his attention to me.
"I don't like the fact that he hasn't woken up yet. His blood alcohol was dangerously high though. If he doesn't wake up soon, I'm going to order an EEG to check his brain function.
"Oh dear lord," I utter, my knees weakening.
"Dad?" Stefan gasps, his eyes watering immediately. Closing my eyes, I wrap my youngest son in a hug. A nurse and an aide step in the room asking us to give them a little time so she can assess him and for them to give him a bed bath and mouth care.
Nodding I turn to Stefan. "Let's go to the chapel, Stefan." Exhaling heavily, he nods slightly and follows me out of the room.
I'm tired, I've been keeping vigil at Damon's bedside for a couple of days now. He's still on the ventilator. Respiratory therapy comes in often to manage his oxygen needs as well as give him nebulizer treatments for his pneumonia. His nurse checks in often to hang fluids and antibiotics. Since Damon is in the ICU, his nurse only has one other patient. Picking up the newspaper for the umpteenth time, I try to read it but I keep getting stuck reading the same sentence over and over.
"Dad?"
"Stefan, I'm glad you're here. Do you think you could stay with him for awhile so I can go home to get some rest?"
"That's why I'm here, dad. Caroline is waiting with Elena in the family room. She thought that Elena should know. She'll take you home."
"I'm glad Caroline took on that responsibility. Frankly, I don't know if I could have without breaking down. And thank you, son," I tell him, giving him a hug. After pressing a kiss to Damon's forehead, I give Stefan a look and walk out of his room. When I get to the family waiting room where I see Elena waiting with Caroline.
"Mr. Salvatore, how is he?" she asks, wringing her hands in knots. I wrap the poor child in my arms to try to offer some comfort.
"Hello Elena. He's about the same, no worse but no better either. I talked to his doctor this morning. If he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, he's going to order an electroencephalogram and consult a neurologist. Frankly, I'm worried about him," I tell her, raking my hand through my hair.
"No, no, no, not Damon," she cries, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Owen, have you talked to Ric or to the police?" Caroline asks, taking my hand in hers.
"I'm going to go with Ric tomorrow to see his friend in the DA's office. Damon's car was found in the Six Flags parking lot. There were no alcohol bottles in or around the car. None were found at the scene. The theory is that both Damon and the dead man were dumped there. Ric thinks they figured that Damon would die too. Why else would whoever did this ply him with enough alcohol to kill him?"
"This is all my fault. If he hadn't gotten involved with me, he'd be okay," Elena whispers, her eyes full of remorse.
"Elena, this isn't your fault. The people that did this are at fault. If it's the last thing I do on this earth, they will be brought to justice. My son is laying in there comatose and hovering near death, I will not let them get away with this," I blurt out, exhaling heavily. Caroline pulls a tear-filled Elena into her arms, all the while her eyes on mine.
"Let's go home, Caroline. I need to get some sleep. I don't know how to thank you and Stefan enough for sitting with him. I just don't want him to wake up alone."
"I'd like to stay with him," Elena offers.
"Stefan can go home for awhile too. Please let me do this," she asks, almost pleading with me.
"Sure," I whisper, taking her hand in mine, I lead her into his room. When she sees him, she starts to stumble. Fortunately, I catch her before she falls. I explain to Stefan that she wants to be with Damon for awhile and that he can come back later to relieve her. Nodding, he agrees.
"Have a seat, Elena," I whisper. Not wanting her to fall, I hold onto her till she sits down. Tears are pouring from her eyes as she takes his hand in hers, dropping a kiss to it. It's like she can't get enough of him. I watch as she raises up to whisper something in his ear and press a kiss to the side of his mouth before sitting back down and clutching his hand to her as if it were her lifeline.
"I'm here, Damon. Please come back to us," she blubbers. I walk out of the room to ask the nurse for a box of Kleenex. Once I hand it to Elena, Stefan and I leave. Taking Caroline's hand in his, we leave the hospital and walk to the parking garage. Yawning deeply, I crawl in the backseat, my eyes falling closed as soon as my head hits the backseat.
"Elijah and Mikael are meeting us there. They want to get to the bottom of this too. They're well aware that Damon didn't kill anyone so you don't have to worry about that, Owen," Ric says to me as we walk into the district attorney's office.
"This has to be related to Happy Dale doesn't it? I mean what other reason would they have to kill Nik and try to kill my son. That's the only common denominator here, right?"
"Yes, Owen, I believe that too."
"Do you think Elena could also be in danger if you subpoena her records?"
"We're going to meet with the detectives working Damon's case when we leave here. All of us. I'm going ask them about providing some security for Elena. Maybe it would be safer if she went home with her brother for awhile."
"Maybe that's the safest thing for her. Although I think Damon would feel bad if she isn't there, I know he'd want her to be safe. He's in love with her."
"I know he is, Owen," Ric admits as we walk into the building and to the receptionist's desk.
"Hi.. Marcia, I'm Ric Saltzman. I have an appointment with Mr. Donovan."
"I'll tell him that you're here. Please have a seat," she says, a smile on her face. Turning around, I notice that Mikael and Elijah are already here. Mikael nods his head, acknowledging our presence.
"How is Damon?" Mikael asks when Ric and I take a seat.
"He's about the same. He hasn't woken up yet. I'm worried sick and I'm angry beyond words that someone did this to him and to your nephew."
"I'm going to be burying him. Nik's father is a judgmental asshole. He doesn't even want to give the boy a funeral. Nik was a good man. He died a hero as far as I'm concerned."
"Indeed," I agree, pressing my hand to his, giving it a squeeze.
"And how are you Elijah?"
"I want whoever did this to burn in hell," he blurts out, fisting his hands.
"And Owen, neither dad nor I believe that Damon had anything to do with this. Please know that?"
"Thank you, Elijah. That means a lot to me and I'm sure it does to Damon as well."
Just as I finish, the receptionist interrupts our conversation.
"Gentleman, Mr. Donovan will see you now. If you'll follow me," Marcia says, gesturing with her arm. We all stand up to follow her into Mr. Donovan's office.
Having finished our meeting with Mr. Donovan, all four of us drive over to the police station to talk to the detectives who are investigating this case. After waiting for approximately a half hour, we're show into Detective Pierce's office where she and Detective Boudreau are waiting for us.
"Hello Katherine. This is Damon's father, Owen. You already know Mikael and Elijah."
"Mr. Salvatore, how is your son?" she asks.
"He nearly died. He still hasn't regained consciousness," I explain, turning my eyes down for a moment to maintain my composure.
"I'm very sorry. I hope you get some good news soon," she says, her voice sincere.
"Katherine, can you tell us anything? You and I both know that Damon Salvatore wasn't physically capable of shooting my nephew. Have you uncovered any evidence?"
"No, Mikael, we don't believe Mr. Salvatore is the shooter. There is no sign of evidence of a struggle," she begins then turns to face me.
"Your son's physician told us that he has a broken tooth and his lips were bruised. I think the tooth and lips injury occurred when they shoved a liquor bottle in his mouth. The fact that the gun was found in Damon's left hand is not to go outside of this room. Is that understood?" she tells us emphatically. Her demeanor suggesting that she is dead serious about this.
"Ric, I understand that you have some evidence to implicate Happy Dale regarding an adoption?" When he nods, she continues, "Miss Gilbert was a minor when that baby was born. Perhaps that wasn't illegal at all?"
"Yes, Katherine, she was a minor but she was drugged immediately after the delivery and told that her baby was stillborn. The document proves the child was born alive. What you don't know is that there was also a receipt for a transfer of funds from a bank in the Bahamas to the Gilberts. The Happy Dale people paid the Gilberts for that baby."
"You've seen this document, Ric?"
"Yes, Katherine, I have."
"I hope you have it someplace safe."
"I do indeed."
"It seems Nik was very popular at Happy Dale. We've actually had a couple of people come forward with evidence as well. Don't ask you. For their safety, I can't reveal their names to you or their connection to the case."
"Have you found Miss Gilbert's child?" Detective Boudreau asks, entering the conversation.
"Actually she and I have an appointment with Judge Graves tomorrow afternoon."
We continue to talk for about a half hour. I'm relieved to know that the police don't believe that my son killed Nik. Even if he remembers everything about that night when he wakes up, I doubt that he'll know about Nik's death. I need to be there when he wakes up. After we finish at police headquarters, Ric takes me home so I can get in my car and go back to the hospital. Stefan, Caroline and Elena are all in the family waiting room by the time I arrive.
Although anxious to get to Damon, I do stop to tell them about what's transpired today. All three of them look dead on their feet so I tell them to go home to get some sleep and that there would be no arguments about it. After telling them goodbye, I walk into my son's room, pull up a chair and sit down at his bedside.
It doesn't take long for me to doze off. When I awaken, it's dark outside. The moon is shining through the slats causing the shadows to play on my face. Getting up, I walk over to it. Leaning against the wall, I stare at the sky for several minutes before finally reaching up to close the blinds. Sighing heavily, I walk out of Damon's room to get myself a cold bottle of water.
After visiting with Damon's nurse for a few minutes, I go back into his room. Walking over to his bed, I wrap his hand in my own, giving it a squeeze. Letting it go, I absent mindedly trace his veins with my fingertip, working my way up his arm. It's when I look in his face that I get the surprise of my life, his eyes are open, full of fear and staring at me.
Thank you so much, Eva. I love you lots and I would be lost without your wise counsel and brilliant insight and you love and friendship.
Often times people that are intubated are restrained so they can't extubate themselves or pull out the endotracheal or breathing tube that connects them to the ventilator.
RANT: I knew JP would use the fact that Damon thinks he killed Elena to let him spiral and have sex with another woman. There was no doubt in my mind that she wouldn't let an entire season go by without giving Damon a sex scene. I knew she'd ruin Damon in my eyes and yet I had a weak moment and watched the stupid episode anyway. I'm not watching again unless and until Elena comes back.
Yes, I know he was only kissing the wench at the end of the episode but you know that's meant to lead to sex. Now she may not show it on screen but it's a given. I hope they come back next week and he says he didn't go there.
In Barbossa's words, "...but I doubt it" JP's being too cute by half if she thinks it's okay because it's not, at least not with me. He can keep it in his pants for 60 years for Katherine and can't even go twelve episodes for Elena. It's pathetic, he's pathetic. And if he wants to suffer for thinking he killed her, he shouldn't engage in something that gives him pleasure. I don't know what on God's green earth ever possessed me to watch last night? Just stake me now.
This is the same old recycled storyline that they're still using 7 years later. It's 2x01, 3x14, his S5 spiral when he thought Elena broke up with him.
Thank you all of you who reviewed the last chapter. I appreciate them so much.
Chapter Title: 'Flightless Bird, American Mouth' by Iron and Wine.
'Dig' and 'Angels Fall' are still in progress. My in progress stories will all continue to post until they can be marked #complete.
Watch Damon and Elena: How they fell in love with each other by iForeverYooung (This is my favorite)
Damon and Elena: Until My Last Breath by iForeverYooung
Damon and Elena: Until you come back to me by Naphie88
Damon and Elena: Timeless Love by ShatteredxDesires
The Full story of Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert by Sahnekirsche100
They're all beautiful renditions of DE on youtube. I'll have to have my DE vicariously through them.
Please remember to review.
Be safe, have a wonderful weekend and we'll see you next week.